american petroleum institute. issue one. newtown nightmare. at least 27 people, including 18 children were killed on friday at an elementary school in newtown, connecticut. at least one shooter opened fire. sandy hook elementary school teaches ch question. the federal assault weapons ban was a federal law in 1994. that law prohibited the

manufacturing of semiautomatic firearms, so-called assault weapons, for civilian use. the ban was passed by congress on september 13th, 1994, and signed into law by president bill clinton. the 10-year law expired on september 13th, 2004. there have been multiple attempts to renew the weapons law ban but no bill has been legislated. will president obama revive the federal federal assault weapons ban? pat buchanan. >> john, the president had both houses of congress with him in 2009 for two years, and he didn't do it then. i doubt if he will try it now, but he may do it. but take a look at what happened up here. this individual came in and murdered his mother, who was a teacher, i believe of the kindergarten kids and may have murdered his father. you've got a did he meanted or insane individual who shouldn't have had any gun at all. but there were people that came to that school with assault

weapons. all the first responders, the s.w.a.t. teams, the good guys had assault weapons, john. so i don't think you can blame this on the gun itself. you've got blame it on the killer, and if, john, you really do go after guns and try to, quote, disarm america, did you know on black friday, the day after thanksgiving, 155,000 requests came to the fbi for clearances to buy guns. >> eleanor. >> right, and that is the paranoia of people, that it is falled by a lot of dark impulses, which we're not going to go into here but we live in a culture that is awash in guns where people have easy access to guns to wreak mayhem. when i was a kid we used to duck under the desk because we were afraid of the nuclear bomb coming. kids today do drills in case a lone gunman comes into the classroom so they know what to do. i don't think we want to live in a society like that. and this horrific event may be the tipping point that injects some courage into our

politicians. this president, like the president before him, george w. bush, say they will sign an assault weapons ban if it comes to their desk. but neither has done anything to make that happen. so i think if the president is looking for a second term, crusade, if you will, he should take this on, and maybe the parents of america will be riled up enough over what has happened here that the kind of grass roots energy that you need to change law will happen. but you know, carolyn mccarthy, member of congress whose husband was killed and whose son was grievously wounded in a shooting incident on the long island railroad she's trying to get legislation through that would limit the size of magazines to 10 rounds instead of 30 rounds which apparently was used in this shooting. she can't get any interest in that in the republican controlled house. not that the democrats are that eager, either, but the politicians are standing in the

way, all in the pocket of the nra. >> susan. >> well, there have been -- i was just look at the coalition to stop gun violence, supposedly 65 mass shootings in the past couple years. one every three months is the number they're putting out. the interesting thing here, though, you're right, congress rarely will do anything about it, because it divides them so badly, even after a big shooting, like columbine, they really couldn't move anything. only minor things can get through. what i think might happen this time, i honestly think there will be an torte put gun control legislation forward. in fact, i would be shocked if they didn't -- if something wasn't put for word after this. this really will give momentum to gun control advocates. i'm not sure they're going to move on anything on banning semiautomatic or automatic weapons. what you are going to see is more likely some kind of control on who can get guns, because if you look at the connector between these big shootings, gabby giffords in arizona, aurora, colorado, and today, friday, what happened in

connecticut, what you see is someone who is mentally deranged getting ahold of a weapon and coming in and killing a lot of people. there are discussions about limiting would can get a gun based on whether they're mentally stable or not. >> that's already a law. look furnishings eve got mental illness -- >> it's not working, obviously. >> it's a little bit loose. >> if you've got a criminal record and you've got mental problems and you're not allowed to purchase a gun, even in relatively loose gun states. >> what is that assuming -- sorry. >> it's assuming that the gun dealer is interrogating the gun pre psalmed purchaser. >> but john the gun dealer -- >> and the gun dealer says -- >> i'm familiar with. this i've got a collection, but you go to a gun dealer, they call up, or you're in there purchasing that gun, and said, does this gay have any record of mental illness or something like that. they call a central headquarters, does eve a criminal record. before you are allowed to pick up the gun. >> in new york, the number of

murders has gone down from 2400 a year, 20 years ago, to under 400 now. it's 300. a big part of that, in my judgment, what has been introduced in new york city, stop and frisk, where the police are allowed to go ahead, look at somebody who they consider suspicious, check and see whether the man has a gun, and that has really made a difference in terms of what's happened in new york. it's not the only thing but one of those factors. interestingly enough, 91% of the people would are shot are people from the minority communities. so they're the ones who are the most -- sadly to stay, one who get the worst of it, the brunt of it. so this is something that i think is absolutely critical in terms of getting gun control across the united states and diminishing the amount of murders. >> but tough same -- you had the same gun law, didn't you, when you had 2400 killed as 400 killed? >> no, we did not. >> you had a new gun law? >> stop and frisk -- >> i'm not talking about stop

and frisk. i'm talking gun show -- >> hold on. >> the gun show loophole allows people to sell guns at gun shows without doing the background checks, and there have been no efforts, or no successful efforts to close that. so, pat, you won't even get interrogated if you go add to your collection at a gun show. >> people are walking into stores and buying guns and walking out, using their legal weapons to kill a lot of people. the connection is there. what do you do about the mentally disabled who get ahold of gan? do you completely ban guns? >> the ultimate justification for gun ownership is the constitution of the united states, which permits a well armed militia. to have guns. a well armed militia has been analyzed very carefully by the supreme court, and the court concludes that this does relate to individual, no militias, properly speaking. >> they've got judges -- >> but acting like someone in a

militia, to own guns. >> john, they are allowing -- judges are now knocking down laws which say you cannot have concealed carry. people carrying concealed weapons. >> what's the point? >> the point is that the judges are interpreting the second amendment in a very pro- gunmanner, which these folks would say. >> why, why? >> i believe that is what the history of the law is all about. >> it's based in the unairing -- it's self-defense. >> home defense. >> it's not every judge. i don't believe these are 9-0 rulings. this is why the balance on the supreme court is very important. >> do you really think that the kind of gun control that you favor, and we know that you tend to be stringent on this matter, do you feel like gun control is really going to affect any change? >> this is the only country in the world that is awash in handguns and assault weapons under the guys that this is for animals. >> england is not?

>> no. >> of course it's not. it's not like us at all. they're horrified at the fact that america has guns. >> there's not an accident that in new york city murders have gone down by almost 90%. >> stop and frisk. >> stop and frisk. >> but they take away the gun. >> there's more to the than that. >> it's the kind of environment that there's really an atmosphere, in fact, a legal atmosphere, we don't really want that many guns around. >> john, we know the mayor of new york doesn't want any guns. >> this is terrorism. >> hunters, perhaps. >> this is terrorism of its own particular sort. if parents are afraid to send their children to school, you're afraid to go to a shopping mall, and every man you see in a ski cap is a danger -- snow a distinguished black journalist in washington, a columnist who heard a fracas outside his front door, thought

to have guns in their home. john, half the men in america, half the in two. when in doubt, punt. >> the u.s. chamber of commerce represents the interests of more than 3 million businesses. small shops to large corporations. the 100-year-old chamber has offices and staff in every major city girdling the globe. now, regarding the fiscal cliff gridlock, what is the judgment of the chamber? answer. don't do anything now. punt. instead of lawmakers racing in the 14 days left of their lame duck session with christmas day in the middle of it, to implement spending cuts and tax hikes, the chamber says congress and the president should simply and temporarily extend the bush tax cuts across

the board. punting will leave current tax policy and fiscal outlays unchanged. thereby wreaking no havoc on the economy and no gun at your head settlement. the newly elected congress comes in january, so any detante will have more legitimacy if it originates at the time of a new incoming congress rather than a lame duck departing one. question, what's the rational thing for our lawmakers to do? mort zuckerman. >> the rational thing, the grown-up thing, which, of course is entirely irrelevant in this process is to find way to get our deficits under control, the debt under control, and to deal with the tax code so that we broaden the base and have enough revenues to, shall we say, encourage control over the medicare ahead dramatic problem. i don't know exactly when. we are going to have deficits and debts that we cannot

control. there's going to be a breakdown in the economy. there already is. there is no confidence in the administration, no confidence in the government. we are having people buying $500 billion of our debt, china and japan, for example, do you think they are going to do it under these circumstances? we are looking at a tremendously difficult long- term problem, short-term problem, and immediate problem. >> actually, america is borrowing money at record low rates and the rest of the world parks their money here. i think we're in a strong position. i think the rational thing to do is to pass the legislation that the senate passed which extends the tax cuts for 98% of the people, then duke it out, and the fact that the claim bear of commerce and the business round table are all coming down on the president's side saying that they agree that the top rate should go up is a powerful shift in alliances, and i think the republicans are going to fold. >> i have to say one thing. the people who are buying our debt is called the federal

reserve bank, okay. >> uh-huh. >> their balance sheet has almost quadrupled. by far and away they're buying 70 to 80% of our debt. that's where the money is coming from. they're printing money and giving it to the federal government. >> and the chinese are not buying as much as before because they're nervous. john, the ideal thing i think would be to pass the bush tax cuts over for one more year but president obama will not do that beck's made a commitment that the taxes are going to go up on everybody over $250,000, and the senate will veto the house if they send that bill. >> that's right. >> so i think the best bet, frankly is i mean, for the republicans who are negotiating is probably to give up on the -- except they won't want to give up on the rate. >> it's a political side of this that the president feels he needs to raise the top rates. i'll tell you, from talking to republicans on capitol hill, they are willing to raise the rates. i've heard some of the most conservative members saying we'll reconsider everything if, if, democrats are willing to

meat us halfway on trying to straighten out the economy by making cuts and getting the budget on a path to fiscal health. so far the democrats have not budged on that. i'm telling you, their backs are against the wall, and they're not going to move until they see the democrats go further on the cut, and then we'll see movement on the rate. >> now, this congress ends in two weeks. and the cliff is still practically unmoved. >> well, it's like football time. each period really is longer, more time than you think. so there's time to solve this and at least get a two-tiered process. >> i disagree. i think if you had a new congress, in a new year, two weeks away, that everything will be far more rational, well conceived, survivable in congress. >> right. >> and made into law, instead of pushing this thing -- >> you're right, john -- >> people want lame duck

members -- >> obama knows that if does he do that, the probability of his plan being modified, perhaps significantly, is greater than if he tries to force it. but it's not in the interest of the public to do -- to do that. >> everybody's taxes will go up. >> everybody's taxes will go up. susan is exactly right off. bama will not go along with it if you get those -- if you don't have the tax increases for the rib. and even the washington post agrees with susan saying, it is the democrats who are now the problem. they are not getting serious. >> my side for a minute here. >> you've had plenty of time to talk earlier. >> not on this issue. the problem is the entitlement cuts, and neither side wants to own the entitlement cuts. and so the democrats say, we'll cut entitlements, but you republicans are going to have to say what you want cut. and the republicans know it's

unpopular so they want it to be like a virgin birth. >> there's -- one guru who wrote to me, if we hike taxes as much as obama wants next year, or cut spending as much as boehner wants, the economy will relapse recession. issue three. 12/12/12 and the fed. >> 12/12/12. a once-in-a-lifetime triple same digit date and the day the chairman of the federal reserve board, ben bernanke, announced an unprecedented strategy. >> a strategy that we believe will help support household and business confidence and spending. >> for the first time in the federal reserve board's 100- year history, the central bank is directly basing its interest rate on the state of the economy. interest rates are now low and will stay low, near zero, says the fed, until unemployment,

now at 7.7%, drops below 6.5%. this could be a tall order, one that takes years. and there's more. during that time, for rates to stay low, the inflation rate must also stay low. below 2.5%. the principal reason for the fed to keep interest rates low is to keep the cost of borrowing money low. the fed hopes that new money will boost the confidence of businesses and investors. >> by tieing future monetary policy more explicitly to economic conditions this formulation of our policy guidance should also make monetary policy more transparent and predictable to the public. >> predictability is what the public needs. a steady anchor, or a rope, to hold on to, should the u.s. economy plunge over the fiscal cliff. the looming $600 billion in tax rate hikes and government spending cuts that will hit in january 2013, days away, that

we just discussed, that mr. bernanke says is already showing its negative effect. question, is the fed's new policy an enlightened departure from tradition or a dangerous departure from tradition? pat buchanan. by the way, i'm having second thoughts about the name of that journalist that i mentioned to you earlier. >> it was carl rowan, and he shot some kid in his pool in d.c. but, yeah, this is extremely risky. >> now can you answer my question. >> i think artificiallily, it will lead to inflation and we are going to see higher interest rates. >> i think bernanke sees the light here. he is putting the emphasis on jobs and tie black the fed does to getting unemployment. >> hold on. >> very smart. >> it's been the savior of this economy to date because without that loose monetary policy, we would be in a terribly deeper recession. so he is the only person that is able to do it. we're not able to do that much on the fiscal side. tess single most important player at this stage of the

game going forward. >> does he -- >> yes, it does. it expands our trade, okay. that's exactly what it does. yes, does it because our goods are cheaper. that's exactly what happens. >> the value of the paycheck can go down. >> he's over there aloof and in his tower, and i don't think he communicates with at the present time, does he, except we're having very sunny weather lately, something like that. >> he communicates with the business community in a way that nobody else does. i happen to have been involved in one of the federal reserve bank boards. you get information there about business, particularly unemployment, that nobody else has. and what he is saying is this economy is still very weak, and he is going issue four. forget marijuana. think heroin. golden brown. heroin consumption is rising and worse. it's among high school students

in the suburbs. in maryland, 4.2% of high school students report trying heroin. says a 2011 statewide survey. this percentage has almost doubled in the past five years. in maryland this year 205 heroin related overdose deaths occurred during the first seven months. a former addicts says this about dealers. instead of waiting for the suburban kids to come into the cities the dealers have gone out to the suburbs. it just blows away these parents in the middle-class communities, the last drug inis unquote. okay, the u.s. war on drugs, that war was first declared by president richard nixon in 1971 with great public approval. since then, $1 trillion have been spent. that's according to "breaking the taboo" a film made by sam

bronson, which debuted this week on youtube. the stats in the bronson movie are really sobering. the u.s. tops the list worldwide as the number one illegal drug user nation. i will repeat that. the u.s. tops the list it worldwide as the number one illegal drug user nation. half a million are in jail in the u.s. for breaking drug laws. on average, the u.s. spends $30,000 a year to imprison someone according to a pew survey. the film compares that to the 1- dz 1,000 the u.s. spends a year to educate a public schools student. two former american presidents, bill clinton and jimmy carter, have assessed the success of the war on drugs. >> obviously if the expected result was that we would eliminate serious drug yins america and eliminate the narco- trafficking networks, it hasn't worked. >> when i was president we had the same problems with drug

production and distribution and consumption that we presently face. >> the documentary stressed the war on drugs has failed. its remedy. end it, or what? question, why not treat illicit drugs as a health policy issue, not a legal one. de-criminalize it, in fact, regulate it, and take the money spent on police and prison and put it into education and treatment. susan. >> there's a good argument for that, because if you end the war on drugs, which i don't think anyone here can argue that it's been a success. it's really just been a complete failure. all it's resulted is in millions of dollars being spent, very few people being helped, a lot of people getting incarcerated, all for what? and look what's happening in mexico and on the border of the united states and mexico. clearly this is reaching like a crisis level with the level of violence in mexico just a

tragedy. so it does raise the question, this has been a miserable failure so what do we do? maybe just de-criminalize marijuana or some other stuff so we can use those resources, as you say, to educate people. kids going after drugs, it's been going on for decades. they're using stronger drugs, getting more damaged. what about kids who are using pills from their parents' prescription cabinets? that's an equally large epidemic. we're not spending enough time getting at the root of the problem, the breakdown of the family, the breakdown of society. all these things out there. >> something that you're missing, what is it? it would free up the police to use these resources to go after violent crime. the amount of money we're putting into it. >> they're spending a lot of time arresting people for petty drugs and also filling up prison space. >> eleanor. >> one of the reasons you're finding drugs in suburbs is because it it's harder to get oxycontin, and twhrafs other one? we were talking about.

the prescription drugs. >> vicodin. >> it's even hard to get -- >> what's wrong with vicodin? >> it's hard for kids to get enough of that to get high. >> it's precursor to drugs. >> it's a sleep inducing agent. >> it's a precursor. >> what about the insom knee yacks? >> there will have to be other things that aren't pre occur source to drugs. >> it's easier to get heroin than is to get sudafed. predictions, pat. >> the firing of scuds by syrian dictator b sure al as sad is an indication that he is at the end of his tether. >> eleanor. >> president obama is not going to be able to change the gun culture on his own. it is going to require every american letting their voice be heard in opposition to the nra. >> susan. >> there will be a major evident to pass some kind of gun legislation in the next congress. >> mort. >> there will be an agreement between the congress and the president, there will be a trillion dollars in tax cuts and a tax increase, and a

trillion in cuts in spending. >> i predict that the year 2013, starting in two weeks, will experience, during the year, of course, a recession. "the mclaughlin group" extends our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of the connecticut school shooting victims. may they rest in peace. bye-bye.

as congress and the white house prepare for comprehensive immigration reform, there's much at stake in california. home to the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the country. for the first time in five decades, the controversial drilling process of hydraulic fracturing better known as fracking will face state regulation. as a busy travel season approaches, tips to help you navigate the not so friendly skies. and the highest tides of the year hit bay area shorelines. giving a glimpse of the future risk posed by rising sea levels. coming up next.